Yankees Notes: Steinbrenner, Cashman, Girardi

The Yankees share the AL East lead with the Orioles after losing again to the Rays last night. It's been a rough week for the Yankees, who have lost five of six, but the team still has an 87.7% chance of making the postseason, according to Baseball Prospectus. Here’s the latest…

The Yankees have made it clear that they intend to reduce payroll below the $189MM luxury tax threshold by 2014. But Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner will change his mind if the team misses the postseason this year. Promising young pitchers such as Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda and Manny Banuelos dealt with injuries in 2012, which will make it harder for GM Brain Cashman to build an affordable rotation.

Steinbrenner told Ken Davidoff of the New York Post that he's "frustrated" and still expects great things from his team. However, the jobs of Cashman and manager Joe Girardi aren't at stake, Davidoff reports. "No, not at all," Steinbrenner said.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks beyond the reasons often offered for the Yankees’ recent struggles — injuries and a lack of timely hitting — and suggests the team has an offensive attack that’s too one-dimensional and a rotation that surrenders too many home runs. New York’s starting pitchers have allowed 125 homers, more than any other MLB rotation.

So does Cliff Lee!!.. Believe it or not there are 4 other ML parks that are more hiiter freindly than Yankee stadium.. Its not to say its not small but, Cinncy, Philly, coors and Mintue Maid have the deminsons of a minor league ball park… fans like HR, HR’s puts fans in the seat.. except in Huston that is…

The 2008 offseason spending spree delayed the need to rebuild for a few years but this team now has over 100mm tied up in immovable contracts, no quality players coming up in the farm and lackluster free agent classes for the next few seasons

They have quality coming up. Austin and flores are in AA now. Hopefully Banuelos can get healthy over the winter. They also have a few good more prospects in the minors. They have quality players, just nobody knocking on the door. Also Cano, Teix, Grandy have been struggling recently; but they are not the types of players you can replace.
They should be able to get healthy over the winter, just hard when they have had to depend on garcia, ibanez, jones, chavez so heavily.

The last time the Yankees beat a team in the ALDS not named the Twins was in 2001 against the A’s. 2003 was the last time the Red Sox defeated a team in the ALDS not named the Angels, and that team happened to be…..the A’s.

I just don’t understand why people are calling this a collapse. For one thing, the season is far from over, and it doesn’t make a difference if you win your division by 10 games or win it by 1 game. Look what happened to the 2007 Red Sox. They had a 14 game division lead over the Yanekes in July, held on to win the division by 2 games I think. And they ended up winning the WS

I am in no way predicting that’s what will happen with the Yankees this year, but I think we should wait to see how the season ends before we call the team a collapse.

And it’s crazy how all the talk is about the Yankees collapsing yet there is little to no talk about the Orioles.

Agree with you to a point. Fans are piling on here and ripping them already, like kicking a corpse. I have noticed a few older members who are fans for the NYY back on the site show up around 2 months ago that had disappeared for a LONG time and were kicking on Boston, some still are MB923.. It’s just how some are around this place and a few others.

Epic collapses can/do happen.. fact of life. boston held a 10 game lead over the NYY in ’78, lost in on a cheap shot by bucky dent in ’78, then last year had the best record in the league at the start of September, only to lose.

As for no talk of the orioles? It’s the overall talent and payroll involved is my 2c.. Nobody expected Duquette to be able to pull that motley crue together so soon with what he has been able to find, by hook or crook and many are still either in denial or figure they will fold anyway.

Make no mistake though.. Duquette is a genius and that team is in it for the haul and has arisen from the ashes.. Cashman is in for a fight.

One of the reasons some are calling this a collapse is because many people don’t recognize a pennant race when they see one. Most fans have become accustomed to the single WC and having races decided in early Sept. Previously, it’s been the division winners and the WC and the seedings were pretty much set.
Yankees fans that have grown up in this current era, where NY was pretty much assured a spot in the play-offs with little competition, don’t know what is happening. Somehow their ‘Yankees Universe’ is out of kilter, ‘”What?, we’re not sure if we’re gonna make the play-offs?” “What happened?”
Trust me, I would prefer to be where we were last month, but this is fun to see and will be more exciting down the road for all fans.

Will go with you there on the not assured of a PO spot, even playing .500 ball to some extent for both Boston and the NYY.. We both were fans when.. Well you were of the NYY when CBS owned the NYY and I was before ’67 when they were well below .500 and in those days.. Both teams struggled to play competitive ball period and the 2 teams actually made trades between each other.

It is good (in a way) for every generation to see a epic struggle for a team that they think has some kind of self imposed right to the PO, or for it’s fans to learn a lesson. NY kind of got one in ’04, Boston in ’78 and again last year for the fans.. Kinds of sends them back to reality, or hope it does that no team has a divine right to win, regardless of what anyone says.

Enough with the injuries. Yes, they have hurt us, but it’s not an excuse. What is wrong is that we had ZERO prospects to call up and replace our aging veterans. And Cashman overvalued many of the players. CC is a workhorse but not a true ace, A-Rod is not a middle of the lineup guy by any stretch anymore, Tex and Grandy are low average hitters who go into prolonged slumps.. And why the hell should Cashman and Girardi’s jobs be safe???! And how the heck does Kevin Long still have a job. He’s done an awful job and has to take some of the blame.

CC is not a guy, anymore, that can shut teams down. And when he goes head-to-head with other quality starters, Verlander, Lester, James Shields, etc.. He comes up a bit short, just about every time. Look at his record against other team’s aces. It’s not good. He’s solid. He gives you 7 innings, 3-4 runs. And on good teams that means a lot. Don’t get me wrong. He’s a very good pitcher. But he doesn’t come to the park with no-hit stuff and he’s a bit overvalued.

Amazing what the evaporation of a ten game lead does to some people. Ask anyone other than a panic stricken Yankees fan or a hater about CC and the answer is he’s an ace. No if’s and’s or but’s.
No question the other guys are quality, but for all their abilities and current achievements, they’re all looking up at first place, from behind in their respective divisions.

How many pitchers in baseball come to the park with “no hit” stuff on a regular basis? I mean, other than Felix, Verlander, Lincecum (before 2012) and maybe Matt Cain, who do you really think has a chance to pitch a no-hitter?

a) Please separate what’s your opinion vs what is fact. Unless you want to take the time to scroll thru pitcher vs pitcher results then you can’s just say things like that.

b) Any FA pitcher is bound to be overpaid (duh).

c) His numbers since becoming a Yankee are as such:

5th in WAR
13th in FIP
16th in ERA
3rd in IP

Based off of that, a guy who is top 15 in just about all the important stats = an ace.

I’m sorry. I just disagree about CC’s value. It comes down to this. In any playoff series, do I think the Yankees have an edge with CC pitching first and twice in that series. The answer is No. Do I think CC can hold his own and keep us in a game. Heck yeah. CC v David Price. Price will outpitch him. CC v Verlander. No question Verlander get the better of him. CC v Weaver. Weaver. CC vs. Matt Harrison. Toss up.

CC Sabathia…what? He who has been unarguably one of the very best lefties in the game for years now and in a perceived down year, is leading the AL in K:BB ratio isn’t a true ace? Who is a true ace to you?

I can’t stand these types of Yankee fan comments. They have misplaced blame and vehement fervor toward anyone involved with a Yankee team that hasn’t already won the World Series. Ugh.

yankees have very little prospects i agree with resigning kuroda but trading granderson who has 75+ homeruns the past 2 seasons would be a mistake its hard to deal with the 235-250 average but you just cant find that power a whole lot anymore especially with his speed

NO reason to trade hughes. Yes he is inconsistent, but he still puts up a low 4’s era, and has been much better than nova. If they can get prospects for him sure, but who knows if Pettitte or kuroda come back; who knows if pineda is healthy.

At first, I totally dismissed your idea, but looking it over, some of it makes sense.
Kevin Towers worked for the Yanks and does have an idea of what it would take to make a deal with Cashman. And the Yanks need to get younger in the OF, so I do agree there. Still, I doubt Towers would trade Upton for Granderson + prospects. Especially when Granderson will be a FA next year.

As for Ichiro, stick a fork in him- he’s way done! He was brought in because he demanded a trade from the M’s. He happens to fit the criteria for the Yanks, a star with a proven resume, some one whom they hoped would be inspired by playing on a contender and would pick up his game. They were looking for him to bring speed, defense and timely hitting and maybe be a spark. He hasn’t done any of that, while he’s hitting for a better average in NY, it’s been just padding of his stats.
Given my druthers, I keep Granderson over Ichiro every time.

HUH?.. Very little prospects?.. Sorry Tom, but Charleston Riverdogs, Tampa Yankees and the Trenton Thunder all say HELLO!!!.. I suggest you have a look at guys like Tyler Austin, Mason Flash Williams Dante Bichetter jr and Gary Sanchez and Compos.. They are called the next core four plus one!.. Arrival is 2014!! and what untll you see Austin Tyler play.. Good lord the kid can flat out hit with power and BA..He should be a spring invite in 2013.. Future looks brite now if we can only get rid of the Ca$hman and let Damon Oppenhiemer and Mark Newman take over, Yankeeland will be set to go!

im aware of all of those except tyler but all except compos are position players the infield is locked up at least till 2014(except for cano but realistically he gets resigned) i think they resign grandy also does gardner has to stay in left or moved to right which leaves rf open and catcher

For the Most part Tom, not many people know of Tyler Austin, but living in the south I got to see him play with the Riverdogs this season. Got promoted to Tampa and simply curshed the competition there and was now promoted again to Trenton which i expect he will do the same. When Yankee fans get to see him play, he will remind everyone one of Kevin McReynolds of the NY METS.. The kid is a the real deal and Yankee fans will embrace him!!.. Next kid is Nik Turley crafty lefty that I say is the next Andy Pettitte,.. No hype like some other pitchers we heard of before.. he too just got promoted to Trenton.. All these kids are Damon Oppenhiemer draft picks.. NOT cashmans! Thank god!!

Any decent LH with ANY pop would hit 30+ HRs in Yankee Stadium. That park is a joke when trying to accurately asses power. If Granderson or Teixeria played anywhere else their HRs would decrease dramatically.

aye…so any “bad” pick was obviously Cashman’s choince and any “good” pick was Opps. MY GOD the dribble that gets posted here. I think it’s pretty safe to say that Opp suggests and Cashman’s JOB (which is pretty much how it works everwhere) is to empower them to sign guys w/in the parameters of the budget set.

Rome wasnt built in a day Tom.. the Ca$hman drafted horrible until Damon took over 4 years ago.. But, you really need to look at kids like Dante Bichette Jr. Mason Williams too.. for the infield, well good luck trying to find the next replacement for Jeter.We have a kid named Corbin Joseph who plays second base.. Have you heard of him?. If not, think of him as a Brett Gardner player type.. The kid can flat out hit and run but no place to put him yet.. . no easy task to replace the Captain. you can only hope you find someone who plays like him at a different postion and IMO.. Bichette fits the bill.. Also, the Yankees are stacked with MAJOR LEAGUE ARMS at Charelston, Tampa and Trenton.. Remember this kids name.. NIK TURLEY.. IMO he is the next Andy Pettitte.. Its the kids that dont get the HYPE that become the stars of the future.. ever heard of Dave Phelps before this year?.. Most likely not but I will tell you this, the kid is the real deal and will make the rotation next year. but I knew that three years ago!… More players to watch out for and will be an impact are GOODY and Gerristse.. SHUT DOWN ARMS!!.. look for them in 2014..Yankee farm system is no laughing matter anymore.. they are ranked in the top 10 going into 2012.. JustThank the brain trust named Damon Oppenhienmer for this!

Campos, Banuelos, Marshall…..plenty of bullpen arms. And please don’t compare what the M’s, Dbacks and other have. Those teams have the benefit of not having a mandate to compete and they usually pick in the top 10-15 of the draft.

All I can say is TRUST THE BLOODLINE.. if Bichette is half as good as his Dad was, he be a fine ML player.. Flores, I seen him play at charleston, now with Trenton, but he is no Austin Tyler, IMO he most likely will be traded.. We can’t play ever one… Salde has come along but his injuries have set him back a bit. Not sure where he fits long term yet but could be a vauleable piece off the bench.. Mason well, nothing more I can add then the kid is amazing.. we might have the next Bernie Williams in him but with so much more speed.. also the kid is learning to hit with power.. too bad he had surgery this year or he too would be at Trenton. Over the next year, these kids are going to be a major impact to the Yankees now that the new CBA limits Ca$hman from spending wrecklessly.. But who knows, he might have to fo 2013, since they are going to need pitchers.. HUGHES will be a fa and will not be signed. Joba might see him go too.. This is the time that cashman has his house of cards IMO crumble all around him.. finally!!… nearly 3 billion spent and one WS win.. imagine if Mike Rizzo of the Nats had Cashmans re$ources what he would build?.. Good post guys!!

Kind of harsh, no? You seem to be fixated on batting and not looking at the overall play. I’ll be honest, I like Granderson a lot.I’ve met him twice and have found him to be a very real nice person, so I’m biased. While his current play is frustrating to watch, he’s not the one-dimensional player Dunn happens to be. If the Yanks were up by ten games, pretty sure you could live with Granderson’s current hitting woes.

Applauding what Mike Rizzo might do w/o first acknowledging that two of the major pieces he has were a product of being the worst team in baseball amazes me. If you want to know what Rizzo might do with Cashman’s resources I politely direct you to visit Cots baseball and search for Jason Werth.

Are you really serious? Opp didn’t “take over” anything. Cashman assumed control over the draft in 2006. Since has drafted/signed Joba, Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson, David Robertson, and many others. Wake up…. Opps doesn’t “dictate” anything to Cashman. And most GMs DON’T make every single draft selection. It’s called delegating.

I’m not saying he isarbage, but alot of people were looking at him as a fast mover, .342/.446/.505 in 200 ab was pretty phenomenal. Coming into this year he had high expectations. Culver is the same age. They both can turn into good players, but they have much more to prove. Him and Austin both had really good seasons in the GCL last year, but now look at the difference in ratings between the two.

Was he an MVP candidate last year because I could swear he had 169 then too. Look, never said he was perfect and OBVIOUSLY he has struggled some this year but 35-40 hrs is 35-40 hrs and you are not going to acquire someone to do that on the cheap. This disgust that people have for Granderson is a joke. Don’t want to resign him to a $100 mil plus deal? Ok. But to trade him for less than his value is silly, especially when you want to contend next year and he’s good for 35-40 most likely in 2013.